Can a prosecutor handle a police report by a witness in a case where she herself has been the prosecutor?
The question became topical when one of the witnesses in a rape case was reported for false testimony, shortly after the case had been heard in the district court in March 2025.
Can a prosecutor handle a police report by a witness in a case where she herself has been the prosecutor?
The question became topical when one of the witnesses in a rape case was reported for false testimony, shortly after the case had been heard in the district court in March 2025.
The reviewer had submitted the report to the police in Qaqortoq, but the handling of the case was handled by chief prosecutor Mariam Khalil. On 31 May 2025, she informed the complainant that the police would not open an investigation.
In the circuit court, she was the personal prosecutor in the same case that the police report was about, which ended with a verdict for a former sports manager and police officer for rape and other violations.
Doubts about impartiality
It raises the question of whether it was correct for the chief prosecutor to handle that report himself. The answer is no, says professor of law, dr.jur. in legal science Frederik Waage from the University of Southern Denmark.
– It is my assessment that a prosecutor who has conducted a criminal case will be incompetent if he has to decide on a complaint about false testimony against a key witness in the same case, says Frederik Waage and elaborates:
– Particular attention is paid to the fact that there is a risk that the prosecutor will actually have to assess his own previous efforts – i.e. the previous conduct of the witness in court. It is in accordance with the principles in section 3, subsection of the Public Administration Act. 1, no. 1 and no. 5, suitable to raise doubts about her impartiality, which speaks of incompetence.
In other words: the prosecutor has already dealt with the credibility of the witness once in the district court. Therefore, she is not the right person to deal with the police report on the same issue.
Chief Prosecutor Mariam Khalil responds to the criticism in writing:
– It has not been my assessment that there was disqualification in relation to the decision to reject the notification, which was made on 31 May 2025.
Sermitsiaq would have liked to have elaborated on why the chief prosecutor did not let someone else handle the police report.
If it is because she did not want to leave the decision to a subordinate, she could have sent the decision to the Danish police. It has been seen in other cases that the police and prosecutors leave responsibility to the Danish authorities in order to prevent doubts about competence.
However, Khalil does not elaborate on why she opted out of such a solution and took on the responsibility herself.
Reported himself to the police
The complainant in the case is the father of the former sports manager, whose final sentence was five years and five months. He represents his son with a power of attorney and since 2024 has sent a number of complaints about the handling of his son’s case.
Under this, he has reported Mariam Khalil to the police for slander. That report didn’t lead to anything either.
But, according to Frederik Waage, the report can be an aggravating circumstance in the case and an additional reason why she should refrain from processing other reports from him.
On that point, however, the chief prosecutor says that she only found out after her decision on 31 May 2025 that the complainant had also reported her personally to the police.
– It is noted in this connection that I did not become aware that a complaint had been lodged against me until the decision was made by the Independent Police Complaints Authority, which did not happen until 6 June 2025, writes Mariam Khalil.
Complained of incapacity
The convicted man’s father has subsequently complained about Khalil’s rejection of his police report, citing incapacity among other things.
The complaint was decided by the State Attorney on 22 July 2025. The State Attorney reaches the same decision as Mariam Khalil, namely that no investigation should be initiated against the witness for false testimony.
However, the public prosecutor does not relate to the part of the complaint that deals with disqualification in the decision, and there is no further right to appeal.
Likewise, on 22 July 2025, judgment was handed down in the high court, where the former sports manager and police officer was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. A new prosecutor had taken over responsibility for the case in the high court. However, this replacement was only due to busyness, says Mariam Khalil.
Sermitsiaq has been in contact with the father of the convicted person, who, as mentioned, has a mandate to speak on his son’s behalf. The family does not wish to make a public statement at this time.
